World sight day

Home / News / UK & World by Press Association January 4 2018, 3.07pm FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Want to read more?Subscribe today from £1 a week People and organisations have clamoured to mark World Braille Day on social media, pushing the phrase into Twitter’s top trends. The day celebrates the birth of Louis Braille, the French schoolboy who created the system that bears his name. He was born on January 4 1809. How does Braille work? The Braille alphabet works on a six-dot code. Different combinations of raised dots indicate letters, punctuation and numbers. There are also signposting markers which tell a reader that either a capital letter or a number is coming next and advanced forms which include more sounds and contractions. How was Braille invented? Louis Braille, who lost his sight after an accident and then infection, invented the system as a teenager while at a school for blind children. He was … [Read more...] about Q&A: Why are people celebrating World Braille Day?

World Braille Day is today (4 January), marking the birthday of its inventor Louis Braille. Designed in 1824, Braille is a cipher that maps every letter in the alphabet into a raised code that can be 'read' by the blind. To mark this landmark moment and to raise awareness of its importance, a Boston-based company teamed up with National Braille Press for a completely unique fundraiser. BikeBus is the world's first vehicle that allows people to safely work out as they go sightseeing through a bicycle-powered bus. In light of World Braille Day, they are running a Bike-A-Thon where participants get to experience a cycling class while actually pedalling through Boston as the instructor on board describes each highlight in visual detail. Proceeds from the fundraiser go towards National Braille Press, a non-profit Braille publisher in the US. It raises literacy levels by releasing information in braille for blind children and adults and specialises in works written by blind authors. Seema … [Read more...] about This tour company are raising awareness for World Braille Day with a bike-a-thon

UFOs (unidentified flying objects) can be anything; from frisbees, to drones and even -if you believe in life beyond our galaxy - aliens.To commemorate World UFO Day we asked former Ministry of Defence UFO investigator Nick Pope to pick his top ten UFO sightings and alien encounters.Held on July 2 each year, World UFO day began after the Roswell conspiracy of 1947.UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy fans believe that an alien spacecraft crashed in the New Mexico desert, near Roswell, that summer and celebrate the anniversary each year.The video that "sent the world wild", according to Nick, Alien Autopsy surfaced in 1995 and was taken -by some - as proof that a UFO did crash in Roswell nearly 50 years prior.The footage appeared to show an "alien" undergoing an autopsy.It was later proved to be a clever fake, but caused such a stir at the time that it spawned a comedy movie starring Ant and Dec.Nick explains that where this video was captured is highly disputed; some say … [Read more...] about These are the 10 most controversial UFO videos EVER… from an ‘alien autopsy’ to a very spooky sighting in Peckham

The situation in Greece is orderly once again. The chaotic tent camps at the Macedonian border have disappeared. Life in the filth of smoke, garbage and human waste has ended. The Greek government has cleaned up. And now, with the evacuation of Idomeni, authorities have cleared the last of these horrible camps. Europe can take a deep breath and relax, for its citizens no longer have to look at images of refugee children living in mud. But the Greeks cannot lift the accusation that Europe is failing in the refugee crisis. For the refugees' suffering continues - just not in public. More than 50,000 of them are still in the country, most in official camps under the care of the Greek government. And the situation in those camps is no better than before. The United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) has called conditions there inhumane. But since aid organizations and the press are not allowed entry, nothing is likely to change. Refugees worldwide: 60 million Yet the fate of those … [Read more...] about Opinion: Out of sight, out of mind

It is being touted as India's largest ever Africa outreach. From October 26 to 30, New Delhi plans to host representatives of all 54 African states in the "India-Africa Forum Summit" or IAFS, the third top-level meeting of its kind to be held since 2008 designed to strengthen bilateral relations. Over 40 heads of state or governments, including South African President Jacob Zuma and his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari, have already confirmed their participation in the five-day forum, which was initially scheduled to take place last December but was postponed due to the Ebola outbreak. About 1000 delegates, including officials and business people, are expected to attend. "The summit will be an occasion to harness new opportunities unleashed by the parallel and interlinked resurgence of India and Africa," Nivedita Ray, a research fellow at the New Delhi-based Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), told DW, adding that sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, security, blue … [Read more...] about India’s Modi sets sights on Africa

How many people would be interested in watching two men spend hours moving figures around on a checkered board? Apparently quite a few. Since the World Chess Championship duel between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin started, interest has been growing by the day - particularly online. Official figures are not yet available, but it is already clear that by the time the match is over, the exclusive live stream from the tournament venue in New York's banking district will have been accessed millions of times, and websites transmitting the chess moves will have drawn record numbers of clicks. At the same time, the exchanges between the charismatic part-time model from Norway and the friendly, but uncompromising Russian have made for lively discussion on Facebook and Twitter. However, things didn't get off to a great start two weeks ago: much to the consternation of the fans, the live stream was breaking up and there were technical problems with the website. Commentary in the … [Read more...] about The World Chess Championship: An Internet craze

Three months after a drawn-out and controversial election, analysts give Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's performance mixed marks. While they credit him for his work ethic and eagerness to make necessary changes, the former finance minister and World Bank economist is also under fire for failing to form a cabinet at a crucial time for the country. Ghani came to power in September 2014, following a disputed poll overshadowed by fraud claims which only ended when he and his electoral rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to form a national unity government. The US-brokered agreement also created the position of chief executive officer, a post akin to prime minister, which was filled by Abdullah. One of Ghani's first acts during his first 100 days in office was to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States, which former Afghan President Hamid Karzai had refused to sign. The BSA not only ensured that US and NATO troops could remain in Afghanistan, but … [Read more...] about No cabinet in sight as Ghani marks 100 days as Afghan president

Most working individuals approaching their 70th birthday would be looking forward to retirement. But that isn't the case for legendary rocker Carlos Santana, who turns 70 on July 20. "I'm retired from retiring," the Mexican-born, naturalized American citizen told Rolling Stone music magazine in an interview. Over the 70 years of his life, Santana has been making music for 65 of them as a pioneering musician who has crossed musical boundaries with his unique blend of Latin, Afro, blues, jazz, salsa and rock influences. Though according to his website, he has already sold over 100 million records and reached over 100 million fans at worldwide concerts, Santana shows no sign of slowing down. Just eight days after he kicks off his eighth decade of life, he will release a new album entitled the "The Power of Peace" on digital, CD and vinyl formats. From Mexico to San Francisco Though Santana became famous for his blues-style solo electric guitar riffs, his first instrument was … [Read more...] about Guitarist Carlos Santana electrifies the music world at 70

The German government will carry out background checks privacy groups call draconian on the 250,000 people working at the World Cup finals in Germany, according to a report issued Friday. Anyone found to have "terrorist contacts" will be barred from working at the World Cup, Der Tagesspiegel reported, quoting a spokesman for the German interior ministry. The checks will be carried out on personnel ranging from journalists to cleaning staff at the 12 World Cup stadiums, the paper said. Trying to calm fears of a witch-hunt, officials pointed out background checks on more than 10,000 people associated with last year's Confederations Cup led to only "one or two" people being barred from working at the event. AWACS to help secure German airspace Stadium cleaning staff will be check for terrorist connections German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble also sent a request to Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Thursday asking for deployment of NATO's AWACS surveillance … [Read more...] about AWACS, Employee Checks Part of World Cup Security

The former head of President Donald Trump's transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it is only a matter of time before the president pulls America out of the Paris climate agreement, and that an executive order on the issue could come within days. Myron Ebell said President Trump was determined to undo policies implemented by Barack Obama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "I expect Donald Trump to be very assiduous in keeping his promises, despite all of the flack he is going to get from his opponents," he told the media at a briefing in London on Monday. He was speaking at an event organized by The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the main group advocating climate change skepticism in the United Kingdom. Speaking in London, Ebell also called the environmental movement "the greatest threat to freedom and prosperity in the modern world." Ebell, a long-standing climate change denier, said the United States would "clearly change its course on … [Read more...] about Climate skeptic adviser says Trump could pull out of Paris climate agreement in days